


Every Opportunity

by KinomiAkai



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Childhood Friends, Friends to Lovers, Friendship/Love, Idiots in Love, Love, Love Confessions, M/M, Mutual Pining, One Shot, POV Third Person Limited, Romance, Valentine's Day, Valentine's Day Fluff, White Day, background sakuino but only really barely mentioned!, we're going all in folks!, written on valentines for valentines about valentines
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-15
Updated: 2021-02-15
Packaged: 2021-03-16 12:15:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,306
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29453670
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KinomiAkai/pseuds/KinomiAkai
Summary: COMPLETE. A series of February (and March!) 14ths, throughout Naruto and Sasuke's lives. A Valentine's Day fic with some White Days thrown in. Modern AU, SNS, one shot.
Relationships: Uchiha Sasuke/Uzumaki Naruto
Comments: 29
Kudos: 237





	Every Opportunity

**Author's Note:**

> Well. Well! I did not mean to write this. I was supposed to take today off. I had fully intended on taking today off. I knew Valentine's was today, but the writing just refused to cooperate with me, and so I knew there was no way I'd be able to get out a full fic in so little time with no ideas, no brainstorming, nothing—
> 
> And then everybody came along with their fantastic Valentine's day art and headcanons and feels and well goddamn. Y'all did this to me! I hope it's worth it - enjoy!

Naruto hated Valentine's Day.

He breathed out, kicking his feet at the floor he couldn't reach. Everybody had given out their cards already—the same pieces of paper, given to everybody in the class, and even though Naruto had gotten them all, too—

Not one of them had had his name.

He stared down at his desk, waiting for everybody to leave. He'd leave after everybody was gone. Throw out the blank, fake cards people gave him and check for any chocolate they left behind. He'd known he was gonna hate today. He didn't know why he'd even come. He should've—

Something hit him in the face.

"Ow! That hurt, you—"

Naruto blinked.

The room was empty.

He picked up the...card, with the paper that had kinda scratched his face. It felt kinda—

Oh. Oh, it had a little frog keychain taped to it. Naruto let out a laugh and squeezed it, gently trying to peel the tape away without damaging the card too bad—did this one say anything? Naruto flipped it over—

_'To: Loser.'_

It didn't say who it was from.

But Naruto knew. He jumped up, running to the window—he knew the way people tended to go home. Only one of them walked, like him, the same way he needed to go—

Naruto caught Sasuke's eye, and Sasuke fled.

Naruto didn't lose his smile for the rest of the night.

* * *

Sasuke kicked the door again.

"I'm comin'!" came the shout from the other side. "I'm coming, I'm coming, jeez—oh."

Naruto stopped, holding the door open. Sasuke adjusted his backpack a little.

"You missed school," he pointed out.

"Yeah, I—uh," Naruto shifted awkwardly. "I didn't feel good."

Sasuke squinted at him.

"Yeah," he said, "you look like crap."

"Hey! You assh—I—uh," Naruto said, and Sasuke watched him try to worm his way out of this one, "I mean, yeah, right, 'cause I'm sick, so—"

"You're dumb," Sasuke told him. "Let me in."

Naruto shifted off to the side, holding the door to let Sasuke in. It wasn't the first time he'd come over to Naruto's apartment—he'd seen it a bunch of times, now. He still hadn't met Naruto's guardian, though…

"...I don't actually look like crap, do I?"

"You always do," Sasuke told him, and Naruto punched him in the arm.

"Get out of my house," Naruto muttered, locking the door behind them. Sasuke snorted and kicked off his shoes, shoving the box into Naruto's chest—

"Is this—uh—"

"Homework," Sasuke told him. And...chocolates and whatever. That was just...accidentally in there. It totally wasn't—

"Oh," Naruto said, pulling out a box, "you left this in here. Fanclub stuff again?"

Sasuke shifted awkwardly.

"It's—whatever. I don't like sweets."

Naruto frowned a little.

"Who doesn't like sweets?"

"I don't!"

"Yes you do!" Naruto insisted. "Everybody does!"

"No! My brother doesn't like them either—"

"He doesn't?!"

"No!"

Naruto laughed.

"You guys are so weird," he said, putting the box on the table.

"It's not that weird—"

"I shouldn't—this was for you, though. I shouldn't take this."

He reached out the first box of chocolates—and the second. And the little frog-shaped chocolate Sasuke had gone out of his way to—

"Wait," he said, blinking at it. "Is this from you?"

Naruto turned to him.

Sasuke panicked.

"No!"

Naruto's grin widened.

"It's not!"

"...Kay," Naruto said, plopping himself back into his chair and grabbing the first box back again. "Does this mean I totally don't get you something for White Day again?"

He swung his legs over the arm of the chair.

"...I dunno what you're talking about," Sasuke muttered. "Do your homework."

"What! I'm not gonna—"

"Or you can do it when I'm not here to help, that works too—"

"No! Wait, hang on, I'll do it, I'll do it," Naruto said, clamoring for the box again. "...Jerk."

Sasuke snorted and sat across from him.

"Idiot."

* * *

Naruto hopped up on the steps, knocking again. He'd spent like an hour at school before he realized what was going on, and then he'd run all the way home to grab Sasuke's gift—

"Naruto!" Itachi said, swinging the door open. "Good to see you again!"

"Hi, Itachi," Naruto said, hopping in. "What're you doing home?"

"What," Itachi said, "my brother is the only one allowed to be a coward today? These double standards…"

"I'm not being a coward!" came the shout, and Naruto laughed.

Itachi's smile widened, and Sasuke appeared at the top of the—

"We'll be in my room. Come on, Naruto."

He spun on his heel, and Naruto shared a grin with his brother, holding Sasuke's present behind his back. He was—he was excited about it. Proud of it, even. But a little nervous about it—a little more scared, the closer he got, because he actually—well, he—

"Sorry," Sasuke said, flopping back on his bed. Next to the...tissues. And cold meds. And…oooooh.

"Oh," Naruto said, "you're actually sick."

Sasuke snorted.

"Itachi's a jerk," he replied. "Thinks I'm faking."

Naruto shifted awkwardly…

Sasuke cracked an eye open.

"I am."

"Wha! You asshole!" Naruto laughed, snatching the box of tissues just the throw it at Sasuke's stupid laughing face. "I thought you—"

"I know," Sasuke laughed, "moron. What are you holding?"

"Uh—!" Naruto said, immediately nervous again— "it, uh—since it's—y'know, since you gave me—for Valentine's, I mean, you—"

"For White Day, yes, I know. You've given me things before."

"I—yeah. Um."

He held the folder out.

Sasuke...took it.

"It's—it's not great. Uh. Listen, if you hate it, I'll take it, and we can pretend I never—"

"Sheet music?" Sasuke said, flipping it open. "Did you write this?"

"Uh—like, I wrote it down, but Iruka was the one who did it all, I don't know anything about—about piano, you know that, but Itachi said—"

Sasuke breathed in.

"—that those were the songs, you, um. Wanted to learn."

His parents' favourites. Or, well, not favourites, Naruto didn't really know, but it was a bunch they'd play all the time, and he'd heard Sasuke struggle to try to learn them often enough to recognize it when he heard the songs themselves, but he was really good with reading sheet music so he might as well actually have some—

Sasuke let out a breath.

"...Is that supposed to be a treble clef?"

"Hey! You jerk, it's not easy—I swear to god, Sasuke—"

Sasuke laughed, slapping the pages down in his lap, and Naruto—Naruto—

"Thanks."

—deflated.

"Moron. Thank you."

Naruto breathed out and nodded, and Sasuke ducked his head, his bangs covering his eyes. He hadn't ever actually—actually talked to Sasuke about it. He hadn't really felt like he could. It was just—they seemed to be the only kids in class that never went home to any parents, and he didn't know how to tell Sasuke—

"Um," Sasuke said, and his voice shook. "If you—Itachi has some—some stuff from breakfast, so—"

Naruto breathed in.

"It's—" he said, stepping forwards a bit, "if it's okay, I'm—I'm not actually that—that hungry."

He glanced back at the door, and back at Sasuke, and Sasuke's eyes were getting red and puffy and Naruto knew he probably didn't want him here but—

"Here," he said, shifting back. "You can sit on the bed, too."

* * *

Absolutely relentless. Ever since the school had caught wind his parents died, every Valentine's had been the exact same—except for this year, this one was worse, because apparently high school made everybody Absolutely Insane. Sasuke was going nuts. And Naruto was—

"Again?! What the fuck!"

—right there with him.

"I know," Sasuke muttered.

"This is like—Sasuke, this has been all fucking day, look at how much money people—"

"I know."

"—seriously! They couldn't throw like, a petal my way? You get a goddamn garden—"

"I _know_ , Naruto, quit complaining."

"I'm not complaining!"

"You are. You are complaining."

"I'm—okay," Naruto said, huffing out a breath, "maybe a little, but, like—c'mon."

He waved around the room.

Sasuke...conceded the point.

"How many flowers does one guy need?! And you don't even like chocolate!"

"More for you," Sasuke muttered, flicking it across Naruto's desk. "Do I seem like I'm enjoying myself?"

"No, but that's not—"

"What do you want, Naruto?" Sasuke said, leaning back again. "Do you want this? You want some fake confession from someone who's never even begun to know you?"

"No! Obviously not—"

"You'd want someone to love you?" Sasuke asked, leaning forwards.

Naruto's mouth opened and closed.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed.

"Are you in love with someone, then?"

"I—well, I—"

"No," Sasuke said, reading the answer he already knew, "you're not. Which means you'd just like someone to conveniently break their own heart to give you some chocolate."

"No!" Naruto yelled. "That's not it at all! I just want to be—isn't it—doesn't it feel good to know somebody loves you? Even if it's not who you—"

He cut himself off, flinching back.

"It—uh. It—never mind. Um. It doesn't matter," Naruto said, breathing out and standing up. "You're right, I'm just complaining, so—"

He moved past Sasuke, and the ache in Sasuke's heart followed the way he moved—

"I love you."

Naruto stopped, turning around to stare at Sasuke for a long, terrifying moment—

And then he laughed. A surprised, delighted, blushing laugh—ducking his head and running a hand through his hair—

"Aw," he said, looking down as he bit his lip. "Thanks, Sasuke. Yeah, I'll—sorry. You're right. I'll stop complaining. I know you guys—love you too, buddy."

He clapped Sasuke on the shoulder.

Sasuke threw him a tight-lipped smile, and didn't speak again.

* * *

"Uuuuuuuuuugggghhhhhhhhhhh—"

Naruto's groan ended with a thump, and Sasuke...slowly turned his desk chair around.

"Good morning?" he offered, scanning Naruto's slumped body.

" _Good_ ," Naruto grunted, "I passed like five hundred teddy bear tables on the way here. There's whole ass bouquets for sale, and chocolate grams, some asshole was getting serenaded and somebody threw a _rose_ at my _face_ —"

He flung it over at Sasuke, and Sasuke caught it, laughing.

"Wow, Naruto," he said, holding up the rose. "For me? For Valentine's Day? I didn't know you felt this—"

"Fuck you!"

"Well, now, _that's_ a bit forward, don't you—"

Naruto dissolved into laughter.

"You're such a fucking prick."

Sasuke snorted, and didn't deny it. Naruto rolled his eyes and rolled over, staring up at the ceiling while Sasuke stared at him—

"...How do you stand it?" he asked, and it was quiet.

"What?"

"Being alone," Naruto replied. "All the time. Aren't you scared we're just gonna be like this forever?"

Sasuke breathed out.

The ache in his heart was back again.

"Every Valentine's," Sasuke muttered. "What is it about today that makes you go here?"

"It throws it in my face!" Naruto protested. "Isn't it—doesn't it throw it in yours?"

Sasuke watched him for a moment longer.

"I don't tend to be alone," he replied, carefully.

"I don't mean _me_ , I mean somebody you love." He paused, sitting up. " _Romantically_ asshole, you know what I mean. Don't you wanna find that person?"

Sasuke flicked the rose back at him, and spun around again.

"Nope."

"No?"

"Not at all."

"What do you mean, not at all?"

"I mean," Sasuke said, flicking his pen, "that love is bullshit, the experience is wholly unenjoyable, and I would like to live my life without it."

"What?! It's—"

"Fifty percent of marriages end in divorce. People get sick. People get injured. They die, they leave, somebody ends up heartbroken. I want no part of it."

Sasuke turned back to his notebook, his heart pounding—too fast. Again. It jumped up to his throat and all he wanted to do was wrench it back down, stuff it back to where it ought to be and lock it there. He was _done_ with this. He was sick of this. He—

"That's...a really depressing way to look at it."

"That's how it is," Sasuke replied. "I have work to do."

Naruto snorted.

"Nah."

Sasuke chair spun around on it's own, and Sasuke—

"What—Naruto, st—"

"Nope, gimmie that, you're not—nope, nope, nope, nope, get over here—"

"Oi—you—ow, get off of—"

Naruto pinned him to the floor.

"You're lying," he said, and Sasuke tensed. "You wanna fall in love."

"You—"

"You wanna be with somebody who loves you and adores you and wishes on stars with your name and wants to be with you forever and ever—look at me again and lie to me," Naruto said, eyes as blue as the sky. "C'mon, say it again. Say it's not worth it."

Sasuke stared up at him.

"...It's not worth it," he whispered.

Naruto's grin widened.

"You're such a fuckin' liar."

* * *

"Isn't your girlfriend going to be angry?" Sasuke asked, refilling his water.

"Huh?"

Sasuke snorted.

"It's Valentine's Day, moron. Did you forget?"

"No, I'm—I'm not an idiot, asshole, why would—"

"I seem to be on the date she is supposed to be on."

He waved at the room around him. Littered with pinks and whites and reds, balloons hanging from the ceiling, streamers wrapped around everything in sight. Sasuke already had glitter all over his hands—

"It's—it's not a—okay," Naruto leaned in, lowering his voice, "you and I both know it's not a date but don't say it too loud because I dunno if they'll revoke that deal on the wine—"

Sasuke snorted.

"—but, uh. I should've probably told you—we broke up."

Sasuke blinked.

"Did you?" he asked, taking the stupid relief he felt and shoving off to the _side_. To the back. Away from here, it had no use to him here—

"Yeah. A little bit ago," Naruto ducked his head. "Um."

Oh.

Sasuke scanned his face.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

Naruto told him everything. That was very strange. That was incredibly strange. Naruto was very suddenly avoiding his eye and it made Sasuke sit up straight—

"I was just—" Naruto let out a breath, "there was some, uh. Stuff. I needed to think about. I dunno. I—there's something I gotta get my, um. Head around."

Sasuke frowned, scanning his face again.

"Are you going to tell me what that is?"

Naruto laughed.

"No way in hell, asshole," he said, picking up the menu again. "Okay, so, hear me out—I think we can share this chocolate lava cake thing, and I know you hate chocolate, but if you play along—"

"You can have it all."

Naruto grinned.

"Aw," he said, "you'd make the best boyfriend in the whole world."

"Mm," Sasuke replied. "Not to you."

Naruto laughed.

"Yeah," he said, holding up the menu again. "Yeah, I know."

* * *

"No, no, no," Naruto was saying, reaching up to the highest shelf. "We gotta do it today, this is when all the stupid valentines shit is out. C' _mon_ —oh fuck yes. Fuck yeaaaahh!"

He swung around, laughing at the package—a little bow and arrow, equipped with a cute little heart on the end.

Abysmal.

"We need wings," Sasuke said, lips twitching. "And a white sheet."

"Oh, you're so fucking right, c'mon—"

Three hours later, they had an apartment full of things they would absolutely never need. Except for now, of course, because Naruto had gotten it into his head that, as Best Man, his bachelorette party gift to Sakura had to outshine every single other one that had ever been created—

"Look at me!" Naruto sing-songed, bursting out of the bathroom. "I'm Aphrodite!"

Sasuke collapsed back onto the bed.

"I can't breathe," he laughed. "Fucking—"

"Is it the wig? It's so fuckin—christ—" he swatted the plastic, frayed, hot pink hair over his shoulder—all it did was swing back on his head, and he—

"Ahh! My hair!"

"You didn't—you've done this all wrong, moron, come here," Sasuke said, finally able to catch his breath. "That seashell bra doesn't fit you at all."

"I know. Either way I've got a nipple out. I'm scandalous."

Sasuke pressed his lips together and did _everything_ he could not to laugh—

"That's sexy, right? I'll cover it with the hair. Sakura's gonna hate this so much."

"Oh, she is going to despise it," Sasuke said. "I fixed the pins. Try now."

Naruto sat back, wiping the hair out of his face—

"Did you want the toy horse?" Sasuke asked, moving back.

"No,no, that's gonna be when I have the sword and stuff. To look really dumb. Uhhhh—"

"Lie back on the bed," Sasuke told him. "We can use the sheets as a backdrop."

"Sasuke, you brilliant fuck. Okay, okay, I gotta—"

…

…

They both burst out laughing.

"I can't," Naruto gasped, "I can't do this."

Sasuke just turned away, head in his hands—

"We gotta get—let's get some booze or something," Naruto said, laughing. "I can't do this sober."

Sasuke looked up.

"I'm not sure drunk you will be much of an advantage," he pointed out, and Naruto laughed. "But it would be a good...addition to one of them. We have grapes in the kitchen."

"OH!" Naruto said, slapping the bed as he sat up. "Grapes and wine, Sasuke, you're so smart. Okay, stand over me again, I'll be a sexy lady—"

"Please don't say that," Sasuke said, standing up.

"I'm a sexy lady!"

"Fucking christ," Sasuke muttered, finding his feet. Naruto swung the dollar store wig over his ass and the seashell bra slipped awkwardly onto his side, he pursed his lips and tapped them with a finger, looking wide-eyed and ever so innocent—

"Bite your finger," he said, snapping the picture.

Naruto obeyed, rolling his hips ever so slightly to waggle his eyebrows at the camera, biting the tip of his finger—

Sasuke pulled the camera away, and laughed.

"That's it. Easy. Take the wig and the bra off—we'll do the grapes."

He hopped off the bed.

"Mm, bring extra wine!"

"Yeah, yeah."

Sasuke grabbed the bottle and found the fanciest-looking glass they had.

"Oh that's good," Naruto laughed. "Gimmie the, okay, okay—"

"Hold this," Sasuke said. "I'll fix your real hair."

"Mhm, mhm, mhm," Naruto said, already halfway through the wine. "Thanks."

"You owe me."

Naruto laughed into his glass.

"I owe you like a billion times over. I'll print you whatever we end up making this into and you can have a million years worth of blackmail."

Sasuke breathed out, shaking his head.

"Please," he said, "do not."

He already had quite enough of him being stupid and funny and laughing and beautiful and _Naruto, Naruto, Naruto_ right in goddamn front of him. He really wouldn't need a reminder of any of this—it was already seared into his head—

"Lean back," he said. "I can—if you can't hold the grapes—"

"Hold them for me," Naruto said. "Yeah, then I can—"

"I'll have to—be—"

"You can straddle me," Naruto said. "I don't care. C'mon—"

"I'm—fine, give me a minute, I—"

Naruto sat up, holding the wine in one hand and arching his other arm over the headboard.

"Here?" he asked, as Sasuke sat between his legs.

"Yes," Sasuke said, keeping his eyes firmly above the waist. The small, pathetic, barely-tied on sheet did very little to hide the fact that Naruto was only in his briefs, and the way Sasuke had to press up against them really, really didn't help—

"Yeah, you can, is that okay? If you have the grapes—"

"That works. Open your mouth."

Naruto obeyed, sticking out his tongue.

Sasuke froze.

"...ah?" Naruto asked. "That—I can move—"

"No, it's—it's fine. Go back to—"

Sasuke snapped the photo—ten of them, as fast as he could, and jerked away.

Naruto laughed.

"I bet that looked so fucking stupid," he said, slipping the wine onto the table. "Be real with me—I look fucking stupid, yeah?"

Sasuke didn't want to look.

"C'mon, you can tell me. The point is to look dumb, so—"

Sasuke _really_ didn't want to look.

"—so it's better if I do! It'll be awkward if it's not bad, we gotta find that sweet spot. Right?"

"...Right," Sasuke said, sitting back. Right. He was the king of ruining the mood. He could do this. He could—

"So—should we take another? I'll—I can just do the—"

Sasuke looked at the grapes in his hand.

"Go back to where you were."

"Oh! Yeah, okay—"

Naruto leaned back.

Sasuke aimed the camera…

And slapped the grapes into Naruto's face.

(It ended up being Naruto's favourite photo.)

* * *

"It's weird," Naruto said, breath coming in small puffs of steam in front of his face, "isn't it?"

Sasuke glanced over at him.

"Rock Lee is directly behind us, attempting to catch a bridal bouquet with his feet. You're going to have to be more specific."

Naruto laughed.

"People getting married! Our friends getting married. Isn't it weird?"

"Ino and Sakura have been engaged for over a year. I don't know about you, but I think I saw this coming."

Naruto punched him in the arm.

"You're a fucking asshole. I mean that they're—it's nuts! I dunno. I feel like I have to actually call myself an adult now."

Don't worry," Sasuke told him, "you'll never earn that title."

"Oh! Oh! Asshole Sasuke is in full force today, huh?!"

"Somebody has to offset all this sugar," Sasuke replied, and Naruto tried to pinch his ear. Sasuke laughed and dodged, his drink splashing out all over the both of them—

"Moron—"

"It's your fault! I'll buy you another one. But it's your fault!"

Sasuke reached up and undid Naruto's tie.

"You—Sasuke! No! It took me so long to tie this!"

"Oh, I'm well aware."

"Sasuke!"

"Relax," he replied, a little light-headed, "it's doing you no favours. Sakura's already taken off her shoes. Just undo this button."

Sasuke flicked it open, and Naruto blinked at him.

Oh.

Oh, Sasuke was...hm. Right. Already under the influence. Time to shut his mouth and look out at the sky for the rest of the night—

"Fucking prick," Naruto laughed, pressing to his side. "It's so goddamn cold out here."

"Mm, sorry, that's me. I'll go—"

Sasuke turned, and Naruto barked out a laugh as he wrenched him back.

"It probably is, y'know! You're a bastard. Cold as ice."

"So I'm told," Sasuke replied, sipping his...almost empty drink. Probably a good thing. Definitely a good thing—

"You wake up way too early in the morning."

"You stay up way too late at night."

"You look dumb when you wake up."

"See, you just look dumb all the time."

"You! You're a fucking asshole!" Naruto laughed, pushing him again. "You're always messing with me!"

"It wouldn't be nearly as much fun if it wasn't so easy."

"It's only easy for _you_ ," Naruto pointed out, and Sasuke...hm. That might actually be a good point…

Naruto breathed out.

"Hey," he said, looking out at the city. "Wanna make a deal?"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"Like one of those—those things that people do. If we're not married by the time we're—whatever, y'know, one of those?"

Sasuke slowly turned to look at him.

"You want me to be your back-up plan?"

"It—that—I'm the one who needs one!" Naruto insisted. "You could waltz right in there and propose to the first person who looked at you and they'd be so busy pissing themselves in excitement that they'd never think to say—"

" _Moron_ ," Sasuke laughed, "it's not high school anymore."

"When it comes to you?" Naruto said. "It totally is."

Sasuke scoffed and shook his head. Naruto breathed out again—

"But just—doesn't it sound—spending the rest of our lives together. Doesn't that sound...man. I think I drank too much before the food got here."

"You absolutely have," Sasuke agreed. "Or the whole wedding combining with Valentine's has come together to make you well and truly mad."

"It—" Naruto laughed. "Yup. That's—yeah, fuckin' love everywhere I look. I dunno. I just feel like I'm gonna be single forever."

Sasuke looked over at him. Naruto didn't meet his eye.

"Moron," Sasuke said, sighing. "Fine."

"Fine?"

"Fine. When we're thirty."

Naruto laughed and reached out a hand—warm and rough in Sasuke's cold, stiff hand—

"...S'gonna come up quicker than we think, isn't it?"

God, Sasuke thought, turning back to the view—

He really hoped so.

* * *

"Well?!" Naruto said, waving his arms around. "Am I the best future back up husband or what?!"

Sasuke laughed again, his back slamming the door shut.

"This is ridiculous. You're doing your best imitation of every other Valentine's I've ever—what is that even supposed to be?"

"It—uh. A heart. Doesn't it look like a heart?"

Sasuke's lips twitched.

"It looks like a butt."

"It—no. Wait— _wait_ —"

"You made an ass out of flowers, Naruto."

"It's not!"

"Is there something you're trying to tell me?"

"No, I—no, that—oh my fucking god—"

Sasuke couldn't stop the laughter anymore.

"Stop laughing! I—"

"Moron," he laughed, "it's incredible. What—do you have plans? Should I cancel the reservation for Ichiraku's tonight, then?"

"The reserv—the—you made a—they take reservations?"

"No," Sasuke answered, "I bought out the restaurant for the night."

Naruto's eyes bulged.

"You—what?!"

"What? We're twenty-nine. We're getting married this year, provided you don't meet the love of your life in the next...eight months. It's our only engaged Valentine's Day."

Naruto stared at him.

Sasuke blinked.

"I'll...cancel it?"

"No!" Naruto said. "No, no, no, no, shit, Sasuke, that's amazing, when—what—do we have to—"

"It's not for a few hours."

"Oh thank god," Naruto said, breathing out. "Um—"

"You did have something planned." Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "Tell me."

"Well, I—y'know. Um. I kinda—I didn't want to surprise you with it, in case you changed your mind or something, but this is—"

Sasuke blinked.

"For, y'know, the kitten we're fostering. I, uh, kinda went through and did all the paperwork to adopt her, if you wanted—she's—they're actually pretty okay with it, since we already have her, um, but we just would have to sign some—"

"Okay," Sasuke said. "Okay, let's go."

"Yeah? Right now?"

"Right now. Let's—"

Naruto grabbed his coat.

* * *

"So, I—uh—"

"You—"

They paused.

"You can go first," Sasuke offered.

"No, you can—sorry."

"Sorry—"

Sasuke breathed out, and Naruto breathed in.

"Just—crap," Naruto laughed. "Okay, are you trying to do White Day stuff right now?

"...Yes. Are you?"

"Yes! Crap! We're always—"

Sasuke laughed.

"Alright. Go ahead. You can go first."

"It's not gonna be any better than Valentine's. That was too good, I'm never gonna top—I've just been—um. I keep thinking about the—the promise—"

"If you want to revoke it," Sasuke said—quietly and carefully, unable to look up— "that's alright. I—"

"No! I—or. Do you want to?"

"No," Sasuke said immediately, and Naruto—

Naruto nodded, and breathed in.

"Okay. Okay, um. It's just 'cause—you—you made the point, last time, at Ichiraku's, that it was like our engagement, and I thought, 'damn, I should at least get Sasuke a ring,' so—"

He pulled out a box.

Sasuke breathed out all at once.

"You bought an engagement ring," he said, staring. Fucking hell. Fucking Christ, he—

"Uh. Um. Maybe."

Sasuke let out a laugh, rubbing the bridge of his nose—

"Naruto," he said. "So did I.

Naruto jerked up.

"You're shitting me."

"I am not," he said, pulling the box out of his pocket. "Here you go."

He tossed it to Naruto.

"Oh my god! Sas—"

"But for the record," he said, "my proposal was going to be a lot more romantic than _damn, I gotta at least get Naruto a ring_ —"

"Hey! That—that's not—that's—okay, that's what I said, but—but—I was the one who proposed all this!"

"That's true. You were."

Naruto breathed in, holding the ring box in his hand. He glanced at Sasuke, as if waiting for permission.

Sasuke breathed out, and got ready.

"...There's strings attached to that box."

Naruto looked up.

"Before you open it," Sasuke said quietly, "there's things you should know."

"...You're actually an eighty-one year old billionaire," Naruto said, letting out a breathy laugh. "I knew it."

Sasuke snorted and shoved his face into their couch.

"You're such a moron," he said, pulling his arm back.

"You're a dickhead. But c'mon. You know you can tell me anything."

Anything?

Sasuke wasn't sure. He'd never been sure. Least of all now. But his life had been building to a moment, and if he didn't let it come now, it was going to inevitably burst from him—

"You were never my back-up plan."

Naruto's smile faltered.

"You—were—Naruto," he said, putting Naruto's ring onto the table and his head in his hand, "I'm in love with you. And I have been for many, many years. And I will continue to be. And all of this—that we're doing—is fine. It's—it's fun, and I like it, and I like you, but I—"

He breathed in, and looked up—

"But I love you, too," he said. "And that's...probably something you should know before you open that box."

Naruto breathed in. He breathed in once, and then again, his mouth opening like he meant to say something that just wouldn't come to him, and so he settled on finally snatching the box in front of Sasuke and spilling it into his hands, tumbling a ring and a folded piece of paper into his lap—

"I—I wrote it out," Naruto said, holding it out to him. "I knew I'd fuck it up or chicken out if I didn't, so I—I—it's all—it's—"

Sasuke took it, staring. And there it—

There it was.

A Naruto that had been watching with just as much yearning in his heart as Sasuke. A Naruto that had tried so desperately to look somewhere else, only to compare anything and everything to the person he'd truly loved all along. A Naruto who had been looking for every excuse for Sasuke to reject him, and giving Sasuke every opportunity, waiting and waiting and waiting and—

Waiting.

Sasuke stared at him.

"You love me."

Naruto nodded, his lips trembling, his smile trembling—he nodded and swallowed and searched Sasuke's face for the same thing Sasuke—

Found.

"Oh my god," he breathed, grabbing Naruto into his arms. Naruto laughed and hugged him back, grabbing fistfuls of his shirt—he could feel the shake in his hands, in his back, Sasuke didn't need to pull back to see Naruto's eyes to know the tears had started—

But he did.

He did, and he stared.

"You—"

"I love you," Naruto laughed out again, another tear breaking free. "D'you wanna—wanna actually date for a bit before we get married?"

"Yes," Sasuke said, laughing out his relief. "Yes, we should do that."

"Thank god," Naruto breathed out, and Sasuke ducked his head. "Um. Am I allowed to—can I—?"

Sasuke looked up again, and Naruto—Naruto breathed in and looked down and wet his lips ever so slightly, Sasuke found himself leaning in without ever replying, closer and closer until—

Their lips met, and it was perfect.

It was a dream. It was something Sasuke would have to live in and experience for the rest of his life to convince himself it was real. His lips were warm and whispered against Sasuke's, his mouth hot and _promising_ , Sasuke breathed into it as Naruto's hands tugged against his shirt—

"Wait," Naruto said, pulling back, "are we dating or engaged?"

Sasuke let out a breathless laugh.

"I have no idea."

**Author's Note:**

> And there it is! What did you all think? Super sorry if there's any spelling mistakes or anything, I just entered like a mad rush to get this out hahaha. I hope you all liked it!
> 
> Until next time,
> 
> \- Kinomi  
> [If you'd like to find me, I'll be somewhere here!](https://kinomiakai.carrd.co/)


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